Give Me a Chance
by mrsremusjohnlupin
Summary: Lily finally caves to James's persistent pursuit and agrees to go on a date. Then she falls in love. Told from both points of view. James/Lily with subtle hints of Sirius/Remus.


A screech of laughter followed a loud boom in the quaint house. With those noises came a crash and insistent curses, followed by shattered glass. It was not the first time strange and obnoxious sounds like those had come from the Potter household. The young couple and child were different from everyone around that neighborhood. The clothes they wore looked like they came from the Middle Ages, and they carried long wooden sticks with them in their pocket. They had not befriended anyone around them. None of the neighbors even batted an eye at the sound protruding from their adequate home.

"James! James get back here! Stop floating on the ceiling and come down here NOW!" A youthful woman, Angela, tucked back a strand of her long, curly brown hair. She peered at her son in annoyance. She had no time for herself because she had to keep an eye on her mischievous son all of the time. Blowing the fringe out of her eyes, she stood and fumed. Her foot tapped on the wood floor in time with her heartbeat while she began to grind her teeth in impatience. Looking down, Angela noticed that the blouse she wore was billowing out from her slim figure and was obscuring the view of her pants. After holding it down and noticing a small stain on her black dress pants, she brushed at it and sighed. Yet another of her pants was ruined. It seemed as if being a parent meant having to purchase new clothes constantly. It also ensured that make-up had not touched her features in at least a month.

When she looked back up James was spinning in circles. "James Potter!" she said, brandishing a finger at her son. "That is dangerous! Come down here now young man. You're father should be home soon and-" a cracking sound filled the house. "He's here."

Angela turned around when the door to the foyer creaked open. Her husband, Christian, had just entered the house whistling. When he saw the look she was giving him-and the broken vase-he stopped. It was obvious from the expression she wore that his wife was not happy. Then he saw that his son was not in her arms, as he usually was. Giving the house a quick once-over he looked at his wife. "What happened here?" he asked, holding back a smile at how adorable his wife looked when she was angry. Her lips were turned down in a pout and it seemed as if she was glaring at him, even if her eyes were just narrowed. "Where's James?" he asked, though his amusement leaked into his voice.

Instead of replying to his questions, she pointed to the ceiling. He began walking toward her to get a better look at the ceiling. The briefcase he was holding slipped to the floor as he past the archway into the living room. When he glanced at his wife she still looked angry and had kept her hand raised. Moving his head to face where she directed, Christian saw his son floating above him, grabbing onto the railing and giggling at the sight of his father.

Christian held out his arms and James, as if deflating, dropped into them. The force of his father's laughter shook him. "He's a wizard!" he told his wife with a proud grin before his son got his attention once more by yanking on his untidy black hair.

--

**Sixteen years later**

"C'mon Evans," a tall, fit-looking young bloke stood in front of an attractive red-headed girl, who looked set on doing something. "It's our last year together. Now I am only going to ask this one more time. Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

At those words, the girl blew her hair away from her eyes and glanced back at her friends-all of whom she had told that she would catch up with. Being flagged down by James Potter was something that happened all the time with her, so her mates were used to it. She looked back to him. The Gryffindor House Quidditch Seeker that all the girls wanted-but he only had eyes for her. Which she thought was strange to begin with since the only way blokes noticed her was if they needed help with their Charms homework.

The past six years had been spent telling the person in front of her no. Anytime he asked her for something she would deny it to him. It was not that she was too stuck up to even think James did not fit her standards. It was the fact that he, along with his friends, treated Severus Snape like a pile of trash. Worse than trash. Not to mention he was immature with all those pranks he pulled on unsuspecting students over the years. But now, she was no longer friends with Severus considering the fight they had, and during the almost two months they had been at school neither James nor his friends had embarrassed anyone in any way so far that year.

It surprised her that he had kept the chase up for so long. He was James Potter known for never keeping a girlfriend for more than a week. He lost interest in anything that was not his friends or Quidditch within days. Yet he kept persisting with her, as if she was interesting or something. Although she had to admit that she rather liked her eyes-emerald green-on which she had been complemented countless times. If someone was to ask her, she would believe that would be the most noticeable thing about her; besides her red hair. Trademark Lily.

"Please Lily. Give me a chance, I _have_ changed since the last time you saw me," the pleading look in his eye was what did it. Lily met his eyes with hers, staring into his soul for some kind of clue as to why he would want to date her. Any idea that would make her believe that he was lying to her. It had been six years since their first year at Hogwarts, when he had found out that she was friends with Severus Snape and begun torturing him.

After much eye-staring, Lily closed her eyes. The Gryffindor robes that she wore were fluttering towards James in the wind and her hair was as well. She held two of her school books, only carrying as many as she needed for her last year of school. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision.

Lily nodded, opening her eyes to see the triumphant and shocked grin of James Potter. Then he jumped up and down making whooping noises, and despite the immaturity, she could not help but smile.

---

He had been waiting for the day he was going on a date with Lily Evans since his first year. She had always been perfect, except for the slime ball flaw of hers-Slytherin and rival-Severus Snape. When she dropped him after an incident in their Fifth Year, James decided to change for the better, for her. So he had taken the whole summer to grow as a person, with the help of one of his best mates and werewolf; Remus Lupin.

Picking Lily up for the date was simple since they were in the same house. It was Halloween around Hogwarts and everyone was bundled up for the chilly air outside. The wind had stopped howling sometime in the middle of the night, but snow took its place and was silent underneath their feet as everyone, Third Year and above, made their way to the only all-wizarding village in Britain.

James chatted to Lily on the way there, trying to entertain her. He told her stories about his childhood and growing up. Since they already knew the basics about each other, he confessed a few stories she had never heard before. On their way to The Three Broomsticks, the local pub that served warm bottles of Butterbeer, they bumped into each other on a few occasions while they were walking.

James has gone relatively far with many different girls, but with Lily it was not the same. She was so delicate and he wanted to treat her with the respect she deserved, and had earned from him. James did not want to mess anything up with Lily and he had made a pact with himself that he would not do something that would hurt any future relationship that might ensue. She was Lily after all, and she took things slow. She triple-checked her assignments, for Merlin's sake.

When they had settled into their seats by a wall of the pub, James had Lily laughing in no time at all. He found that when he made her laugh he felt accomplished; he had been spending all that time on pranks trying to make her laugh, when all it really took was him telling stories about growing up and his friends.

It was just when he had her smiling and sipping her drink that his friends entered The Three Broomsticks. Since the place was jammed full of students, as the door shut behind them they scanned for seats that could not be found. That was when one of the three boys, Remus, saw James sitting with Lily. He turned to the tallest boy and whispered something in his ear, catching James' eye.

The boy with the dark hair, whose ear Remus had been speaking into, spotted the two of them at the table. His mouth split into a gigantic grin and he began walking to the table, Remus and a small, pudgy boy following. Remus was frowning after the shaggy-haired boy.

"Oi! James, Lily," he boy grabbed an empty chair from a table and whipped it around to the table. The other two stood by his side, Remus looking down at his friend as if he could not be more insane. "Everywhere else is full, mind if we sit here?" he grabbed a brisket off their plate and took a bite out of it.

James was horrified at the sight of his friends and glared at the young man when he spoke. "It seems as if you do not need an answer to that Sirius," he motioned to the food that was taken. He was avoiding Lily's eyes and settled for boring his into Sirius's.

"Yer righ' I don'," he said with his mouth full of bread and spit it across the table into James's face. Remus looked down upon Sirius. Then he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him out of his chair and back onto his feet-obviously much stronger than his tall, slim figure would let on.

"Come on Sirius," the boy growled, glowering at him as he began dragging him to the door. "It is time to go."

"Remus what are you doing? I was just talking to James and Lily and there were no tables that we could have and-" Sirius's insistent pleas to stay were drowned out by the noise of the crowded pub. James watched as the door opened and the two excited out of it; Sirius' shaggy hair bobbing over the head of other wizards. When James looked over to see his third mate, Peter, he noticed that he was gone and had followed Remus and Sirius to the door. And, sure enough, when James looked back to the door it stood open long enough for someone to slip out before clinging closed.

He dreaded seeing the look on Lily's face, but James slowly turned to face his date while wiping invisible Sirius-slobber off his face to keep his hands busy. However, when he saw her he stopped, placing his hand down on his lap.

She was smiling at the door after his friends.

---

"James!" Lily screeched with yet another bought of laughter as he did his impression of their Transfiguration professor. She smacked him on the arm but continued to giggle.

As strange as it was, their date in Hogsmeade went well. Lily had really enjoyed the time she spent with James. He made her laugh. A lot. They had gone past Madame Puddifoot's and she had stopped, facing him with a calculating look. He looked at her, then at the shop. "No Lily, there is no way I would ever take you in there," he had pointed just as a girl walked outside and glared at Lily. "I have much more class than that," it was one of the many things he had done to make her giggle that day. But she giggled little. Usually she was in tears from laughing so hard.

He had also been a perfect gentleman. He opened doors for her, paid for her drinks, and never even glanced at anyone else. Even when people were staring at them and whispering. James had also tracked down a teddy bear and had purchased it for her. At first she was unsure if she should accept it, wondering what it would mean to him. "Don't worry Lily, it's not a marriage proposal," he had said then batted his eyelashes and pouted his lips. "Pwease take it wiwy."

She grabbed the bear out of his hands and thanked him. Anything to get him to stop that. One; people were staring. Two; it had been cold outside, where he was trying to get her to take it. Three; he looked adorable like that, and she was not sure what she would do to him if he continued to do it. Lucky for herself he had stopped, and then had taken her buy some candy.

It was a week later when they were walking from the Great Hall after dinner and James had moved on to their Charms professor. Lily let out a fresh burst of laughter just as they turned the corner to go out the entrance hall and spend a few minutes outside. Then the door to the dungeons opened and Severus Snape's lanky form appeared and fixed his gaze on the two of them.

---

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw the slime ball. Instead of looking at him and glaring back like he was tempted to, he settled with turning his eyes to Lily.

She was just so pretty. Those fresh eyes were still sparkling with laughter, but they had a sort of tortured undertone to them as well. James also noticed that she had tensed when he looked at her. The black coat that was wrapping around her, curved like a second skin. They kept walking, but after they had past Severus, James put an arm around Lily's shoulders. He knew Snape would see it, which was not even the real reason why he did it. In all honesty, he just wanted Lily to feel comfortable. But he would take that to his grave amongst his friends.

Instead of pulling away or pushing his arm off her like she used to always do, James was pleased to find her leaning into his touch and walking closer to him. A small smile flashed across his face. It was not a smile of triumph at getting Lily to warm up to him. It wasn't a victory smile. Now he knew that the two of them falling in love was possible. With that little gesture she had let herself warm up to him and finally let him know that they could be together some day, that it was not an impossible dream.

It was a smile full of hope.

---

When they had seen Severus, she had not known what to expect. Actually she had. James would see the Slytherin looking at them; snap something at him, which would cause Severus to retort something back. Wands would be drawn and James would succeed in embarrassing her previous friend yet again. In such a situation, Lily would not have any idea what to do.

Sure, she and Slytherin used to be best friends. That had all changed in their Fifth Year, though, when he had called her a Mudblood after she had tried to stop James from hurting him. Since then she had learned to live with the fact that she was no longer close with Severus. She had stored her anger away. Whenever she saw him, though, a sort of sad frustration pulled at her chest.

As soon as James looked at her, Lily figured he was going to just turn and whip out his wand to hex Severus. She felt his gaze on her and it made her uneasy, so she clenched her teeth and tried to ignore it. The arm that moved around her shoulders was slow. They had past Severus by the time it was around her, but there was no doubt in Lily's mind that Severus was still watching their retreating backs.

When his arm went around her, a strange sensation came over her. One that made her feel like she was protected. She scooted closer to the comfort James was offering. She felt him give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and she peered up at him through her fringe and smiled. He returned it and then stuck out his tongue, which made her chuckle as they walked out of the doors and into the cold.

---

The next day, James was watching Lily all through their morning Potion's lesson. Watching her so much that he had almost added two rat tails instead of one to his cauldron. If Remus had not caught him, he might have changed the combination entirely and possibly created an explosion.

But he just could not help himself. When Lily worked she pulled her hair up into a messy bun and rolled her school robes up to her elbows. From his spot behind her, James could tell she was concentrating hard on everything she did. Her partner and she were working together in unison, but Lily was obviously doing most of the work. He watched as she leaned over the cauldron, stirring first clockwise then counterclockwise. She was so beautiful when she stirred that stick.

That morning he had gone into The Great Hall planning to sit by or next to Lily and eat breakfast together. However, when he got there, she was surrounded by some of her mates and he had not been able to. So he sat with his friends and tried not to sulk all through his porridge.

It amazed him that she could actually concentrate while his main concern was not exploding something while he observed her. Then, her partner leaned over after Lily put something in her cauldron and whispered something into Lily's ear. James watched as she turned her head around to look at him. Not with the usual annoyance or dislike she usually did. At first her expression was curious, but that melted into a smile and her eyes softened as her eyes met his.

"Ten more minutes," the professor spoke from the front of the classroom, and Lily turned her head back to her work. The moment was over, and James needed to finish his work. It was not like he could count on Sirius to help him. The git was leaning over the table and speaking to a Hufflepuff girl stationed next to their table.

James peered into their cauldron and noticed it was a light green color. Which was not too bad considering that it should have been dark green, and he had spent the whole time staring at the back of Lily's head.

"James," he started and glanced at the table next to theirs and saw Remus watching him. "You alright mate? You've been staring at Lily this whole time," their potion must have been completed, because Peter was sitting in a chair dozing off and Remus had stopped working to speak with him. "Not that it is much different from usual, but you never messed up your potions before."

"Oh, er," he looked in front of him at where Lily was now sitting down and laughing at something her partner, someone in Ravenclaw whose name escaped him, had said. Her laugh made him smile and spread warmth throughout his body. "Yeah. I mean," he looked at Remus. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He glanced at his cauldron and then back to Remus, whose eyes were gleaming with curiosity and slight mirth. There was less than ten minutes before they had to show what they had done, and James knew he would not be able to concentrate enough to figure out how to get the concoction how it was supposed to be.

"Remus…. could you?" he gestured to the goo and Remus smiled.

"Of course," he said and began to fix the potion. James then sat down next to Peter so he could stare at Lily.

---

As she was placing her stuff in her bag, Lily felt a tap on her shoulder. Potions had ended and the other students were filing out. When she turned around, she saw that James was standing behind her with his bag around his shoulder and he was beaming at her.

"Hello, want to walk together?"

Lily turned to her partner, who had been waiting for Lily to gather her ingredients and notes. "You can go on," she said and closed her bag before putting it on her shoulder. Then, she turned to face James and smiled back.

She had just placed in the main ingredients into her potion earlier when her partner had told her that James Potter was staring at her. When Lily had looked she found that she was correct and he was indeed watching her. For a moment she hadn't been able to break eye contact. It had been as if her eyes were glued to his.

When she used to look at him, she would feel disgusted or annoyed. But that time, she saw his face and her breath had hitched as she saw how intense he looked just watching her. Then, the teacher had spoken and broke her out of her little world.

"Hi James," she had not seen him since they parted after having a snowball fight the day before. He had walked her to the common room, gave her a hug, then left. Most likely to be with his friends somewhere getting into some type of mischief.

The truth was, she had dreamt about him the past week non-stop. Yesterday he had put his arm around her in front of Severus and gave her a hug. Also during their snowball fight he had hugged her from behind and spun her around in a circle. She could not remember when she had so much fun before. Plus, he looked so cute with snowflakes in his hair and red cheeks from the cold.

"Lily," he was smiling and she returned it. "May I accompany you to the common room?" Potions had been their first class of the day but they did not have a class again until after lunch. She nodded.

As they walked out of the classroom, James held the door open for her and she thanked him. He had chuckled then and turned to her, taking her hand in his. Their fingers intertwined and Lily could not break her eyes away from them. When she finally did, she looked up at James and was smiling.

"C'mon," she broke eye contact to begin their trek and tug him along.

---

They were sitting on the couch in front of the fire. James had a textbook propped on one of his knees and was pretending to read while he was actually studying her. Lily was writing an essay on the other side of the couch.

Since he was smashing himself into one couch corner and she was doing the same, they were far away. He sighed and shut the textbook, which made her glance at him. "Something wrong, James?"

Yes. He could not concentrate with her sitting there, with her hair falling in her face like that. She was looking at the book and parchment with such vigor that he could barely break his eyes away from her. Of course, he was not about to admit that, lest it got back to one of his friends; mainly Sirius.

Instead of answering and lying to her, he leaned forward and let the book slide off his lap and onto the couch. As he moved closer the book fell to the floor, but he didn't care. When he was beside her and she was staring at him with a curious expression, James reached a hand to tuck a strand of her velvet hair behind her ear. It was even softer than he imagined. He rested a hand on her cheek as he felt his head moving closer to hers. He watched her eyes flutter closed before closing his.

"James! Lily!" James jumped as his eyes snapped opened and he watched Sirius stumble through the portrait hole. He glanced over at Lily, who was blushing and staring at her essay. The hand that was still cupping her cheek, he moved off and set in his lap.

Between where they sat there was a small gap that a mouse would not even be able to fit into. Yet when Sirius got to where they sat, he was successful in separating them. James picked up his book from the floor and retreated to the corner of the couch again as he glared at Sirius over the textbook.

---

To say that she had been disappointed was an understatement. After all the dreams she had been having, their lips were so close. Of course, Sirius had been the one to ruin it. Later she thought she would have regretted it, but she had actually thought of it more.

But that had been over a week ago. Since then either her or James were too busy to be alone together. If they went outside, one of their friends (usually Sirius) would follow. If they were in the common room together, so were half a dozen people. Whenever they ate together, people were always around them and were holding a conversation with one of them.

So when Lily and James had gone outside after Remus dragged Sirius and Peter away, they were quick to realize that they were alone. The snow they had been playing in had begun to melt earlier in the week, but now a fresh blanket had started to cover the ground. Big flakes were falling at a slow pace as if they had a contest to see which one could touch the ground last.

People around them were shrieking. One student had thought it would be fun to make a snowman and then charm it to move. Now it was chasing people around. A large group of people had begun a snowball fight away from the snowman, and a few people were on the lake, skating.

Lily felt James slip his hand into hers. They had left the castle without grabbing their gloves, but the warmth of his hand was enough to have her ignore the cold on the outside. He intertwined their fingers as they walked towards the lake in silence.

She peeked over at him and saw that he had snow falling into his dark hair and a relaxed expression on his face. While walking she bumped into him occasionally.

Just then she stepped on a patch of invisible ice, covered by a thin layer of snow, and she started to slip forward. On instinct she let go of James's hand and braced herself for the fall.

There was no need though, because she felt strong arms engulf her and pull her upright. Flushed, she turned to face James, who was standing close enough that she could feel his breath against her nose. Lily gave him a small smile and realized that he had yet to let go of her. She was pulled closer to him and could feel the heat of his body through both of their clothes.

One of his hands glided up her side and to her shoulder, then neck. Lily held in the shiver that had built when he did that, but she let it take over. Then, that hand was on her cheek, stroking it. She held her gaze with his as he began to shift his head forward and down.

Her head tilted upwards and her eyes closed before their lips met. A slow ember burned inside her stomach whenever she was with him, and at that contact it flared to life. It also took the breath out of her, so she pulled back to take in a deep breath. James took advantage of that time and put his hand behind her head instead.

Their lips met for a second time, and Lily was ready for the spark that lit her from her head down to her toes. She smiled against his lips and felt him smile back. They let their lips move against each other gently before they parted. Each of their cheeks was pink from the cold.

"Want to go inside? I'll make you some hot chocolate," his voice was softer than she had ever heard it, which excited her more than it should have. "Or knick some from the kitchens."

"I'd like that," she giggled and took his hand before they started to walk back to the castle.

--

**Two Years Later**

"Witches and wizards, I have the great honor of introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

Angela clapped along with the other spectators from where she sat at a table near the back. From there she could observe everything that happened within the party. Who was leaving with someone they did not come with, and all of the events taking place underneath the huge white tent.

Her view of her son and daughter-in-law was obscured as people gathered to watch them dance together for the first time. She stood, adjusting the strap on her light purple dress. As the mother of the groom she was able to move through the crowd with ease. Sirius Black had also spotted her and was making sure everybody moved out of her way, which was strange because she had seen him disappear earlier with Remus.

She was able to watch the end of their dance. He had taken lessons so they would be able to look flawless for their first dance. One of the many firsts that they would have together. As Angela watched her son, she remembered the first time he showed sign of magic. Christian had been so ecstatic that she was afraid he would burst into flames.

James and Lily were gliding across the floor, lost in each other's eyes. The slow song that was being played by the band forced Angela to smile. The tears that began to form were gone as the sing ended and they parted with a lingering kiss on the lips. The wedding may have been rushed, but it would have come with time. It was obvious from the moment Angela saw the way they looked at each other that they were in love. They would be for a long time.

A different song began to play and James squinted against a light that was shining upon him. He appeared to be scanning the crowd gathered around them. Lily melted into the crowd and Angela spotted her standing beside Remus. A light weight against her back forced Angela to take a step forward and she glanced back to see Sirius motioning her to move forward.

By the time she turned her head forward, James was in front of her holding out a hand. She placed one of hers on top of his and let him lead her to the middle of the circle of people. He began moving her, not as fast or as complicated as he did with Lily, but something simple.

"I love you mum," he whispered.

"I love you too. I wish your father were here. He would have… he would have been so proud of you," she had promised herself that she would not cry, but the mention of her late husband had her eyes wetting instantly.

"I know mum," the wavering in his voice notified her of his tears since she was unable to see his face.

"I am so very proud of you James. You're such a handsome man. And so talented," she pulled back enough to see the tear streaks on his cheeks. "Now, now," she lifted her hand off his shoulder to wipe some off. "None of that."

"I'll stop if you will."

She chuckled, shaking her head and replacing her hand. The song was almost over, and she had not finished saying what she wanted to.

"I'm the luckiest bloke in the world to have a mother like you and a wife like her."

"James, on the contrary. I don't know what I would do without you," the tune ended with a series of claps from the audience members. She leaned forward and on her toes, kissing his forehead.

"You are a wonderful wizard."

--

**Author's note;**

Oooh goodness. I wrote this in _January_ and have been waiting to get it Beta'd since.

**Randi** (BeyondxHatred) (who looked over the very first section of this) got a virus and couldn't complete it.

However my great friend, _**Delta**_ (deltadecapitated) was kind enough to look it over and give some criticism as well.

**Thank you** two for Betaing, and thank _you_ for reading.

Please review (I would love some more criticism... as long as it's constructive)! (: Peace, love, and _peanut butter _for all!


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